The Death of a Man
by Ice Wolf17
Summary: The tragic death of a military man affected everyone, especially his own family. Spoilers for manga 15 (could be for episode 25 too).


**The Death of ..... No, wait a minute, I'll tell you the name when you're done reading, so read on  
Note:** Spoilers for FMA chapter 15. I recommend highly that you read through that chapter if you want to get a better feel for the first part of the story.  
**Note2: ** The fanfic follows the manga's path more so than the anime's path. So that's why the names are like that. Also, those who have reviewed before, please go to the bottom and check out "Edit2".

"I've got a wife and kid waiting for me at home." Lieutenant Colonel Hughes felt the presence of danger behind his back once again. He knew where that 'thing' was and wasn't going to let them get the best of him. 'After all, I do have a family to go to home to'. But to him, they weren't just _any_ family, they were his wonderful wife, Grecia, and his cute daughter, Elysia-chan. 'No way am I going to die here.' With that thought in mind, Hughes slipped out a small knife from his armsleeve.

'Heh heh, this will show 'em.' He took a deep breath before turning to attack.

"I can't die here!!" Arm lifted, knife ready, Hughes was going to end this battle quickly.

But what he saw next froze him still in his tracks. His entire body shivered as a sudden cold breeze swept over him. Horrified and shocked, Hughes found himself staring right back at his own wife. Beautiful and doused with evil.

He knew very well that this demon had transformed into his beloved wife. He knew that it was all just an illusion. But seeing her face….. 

Shock and despair befalled Hughes as he stood face to face with his beloved. He struggled to move his arm, but it wouldn't move. It was frozen in mid-air too, just like the rest of his body. 

Disgust filled his stomach. If only he could stab that devil a thousand times over…. But he couldn't. And he knew that. For if he stabbed that thing now….. He'd stabbing his own wife. Hughes felt a twinge of pain inside of him at the thought. He couldn't bring himself to do it. And he knew that. He could _never _bring himself to do it.

Hughes grew sick at the sight of the demon, smiling a demented version of his wife's grin. Disgusting. What a sick, twisted bastard that thing was.

"You're not going to stab your wife, are you?" 

The cold, hard realization hit him deep and fierce. It had a long time ago, but now, it felt stronger than ever. And it hurt like hell.

He wasn't going to win this fight. He wasn't going home. He could _never_ bring that knife up to her, even if it was a demon in sheep's clothing. The thought alone killed him. He couldn't do it. She was too precious to him. 

Hughes felt himself flinch on the inside. That damn demon had hit his weak spot. It _knew_ that he couldn't do it.

Those haunting words lingered inside his head a little longer. He couldn't bare to hear that thing imitate her voice anymore. _Her_ voice. Hughes closed his eyes in pain. The pain of remembering his wife and Elysia. The pain of knowing that he'd never be able to return home to them again. The pain of never being able to see their happy faces anymore. The pain of never seeing Elysia reach her fourth birthday. The pain of never seeing her turn four…..

"Nice effects aren't they?" Hughes looked up to find the gun in the bastard's hand pointing straight at his chest. He felt the barrel press up against his uniform. Sweat fell from his forehead. The air felt humid as death crawled towards him on all fours. 

As another tingle slinked along his back, Hughes realized that, suddenly, he felt a feeling he hadn't often felt before. He was frightened. He was frightened that he couldn't do anything to save his family. Frightened that he was going to lose his daughter. Frightened he was going to lose his wife. Frightened that he was going to lose his life..... 

The thought was too horrible to think about, but he knew that it was true, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from coming. 

The gun clicked. Hughes felt the air grow tighter by the second. Hell was already beginning to surround him. Death blurred his vision.

But yet, an image of his family was able to break through the haze and into his mind. An image where Elysia-chan just blew out the candles on her birthday cake. His wife was so happy and joyful. He was so proud and gentle. Elysia had only turned three this past weekend. He'd never get to see her again. It pained him to think that the last time he'd see her was when she just turned three. Just turned three…..

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." He felt his throat turn dry. Dread rushed throughout Hughes, encasing him in his ultimate nightmare. A feverish chill circled his temples like shark circled their prey. Hughes suddenly felt dizzy and hot. This wasn't happening to him, was it? It was all too soon, it felt all too soon. 

He watched as the demon's sadistic fingers rubbed the trigger. A slight trickle shivered down his spine in terror. The undeniable death was about to happen. Sweat poured down his face, drenching his uniform. This was it. It was all going to end soon. And all Hughes could do was watch, with careful hawklike eyes, as his wife pulled the trigger.

A cold, spine-chilling howl sank into the lonely night and forever shattered the hearts of those who heard it far, far away.

The sky was gray and dark, the clouds a little lower than they should've been. No one predicted that the clouds would look depressingly glum today, for yesterday yielded no warning. Even the air felt heavy and tight as it clung to the many black coats and blue uniforms of those who had gathered for the sorrowful event.

Thunder boomed overhead, echoing throughout the sky. Sharing with its immediate power, was the cries of a lonely family.

Grecia and Elysia Hughes stood side by side, watching as the most important person to them was being buried beneath the ground. Tears swept Grecia's face as she held tight onto her daughter's hand. She tried to stop her hand from trembling, but it was no use. She couldn't hold back her tears. The wound was still too fresh in her mind.

The thought of him alone made her sick to the stomach. It felt like an empty void opened up inside of her, a blackhole, sucking in all the faith and courage that she had left. It felt horrible. Hurting, from the inside. Pain, from the loss. It was so hard for her to stand and still be strong, when she herself, was trying to endure the queasiness of emptiness and loneliness that was tumbling around within her stomach. 

Tears anew flowed down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away with her cloth. 

"Daddy." The subtle voice of her daughter sounded different, like it was hurt and lost. "Why daddy? Why did you have to die?" Grecia bit her lip to keep from bursting outloud. A voice, so innocent like hers, was speaking words that she shouldn't have known. And the way she said them….. it sounded so harsh.

Elysia continued to stare off into the distance, looking at her father's grave, where a mighty mound of sand and dirt stood. A bunch of soldiers in uniforms stood by with their shovels plunged into the ground or tossed aside.

"He was _ never_ cruel to anyone. The nicest, k-kindest, gentlest, and only husband I ever had….. w-who was ever born. He took away my heart the v-very instant he set eyes on me….. W-Why?..... Why….." Grecia bent her head down in agony. Her head pounded. It ached so much. That and her heart. 'But he took away my heart a long time ago, he just carried it with him when he died' She almost couldn't stand the pain anymore. It hurt too much. 'But Elysia…. God, he loved her so much….. What will we do without you?'

"Daddy….." Grecia felt Elysia's hand slipping away from hers. Quickly, Grecia took a hold of her daughter's arm before she could get away. It hurt her ears to hear Elysia's soft crying. It was the kind of cry that she never heard around the household before.

"Mommy!" Elysia gave into her mother's resistance and ran into her arms. Grecia bent down and picked her up, wiping away her child's innocent tears. 

Thinking about the situation made her head hurt even more than it already did. He wasn't here to guide her anymore. He wasn't here for them anymore. He wasn't going to brighten up the day with his warming smile. He wasn't going to make another joke. He wasn't there for her to cry on. He wasn't there. Grecia closed her eyes and heavily held Elysia's head close to her shoulder.

The only thing Grecia knew she could do was to move on. But that was much easier said than done. It would take years for them to recover. An infinite amount of years. 

"Mommy….." Elysia moaned in a muffled, tired voice.

"Shhh…." Grecia gently loosened her hand on her daughter's head and gently rocked her daughter back and forth. It was hard to resist the tears, to resist the urge to yell out in frustration. She didn't know how she'd live from then on. How she would manage without him. Always having that blank space floating beside her, where her husband would be.

"Mom…." Grecia let out a soft sob. It was going to be so hard to live. So hard to fall asleep. So hard to eat. It would never be the same again, for, no lullaby could ever heal the wounds that they felt that day. They were too deep to touch, let alone, to reach.

Roy Mustang let out a sigh. He had only looked back to see Hughes' family far away in despair. They were too scared to come any closer to his grave. 'But it's reasonable…..' Who would want to look at their deceased husband's/father's grave? Roy closed his eyes and looked away. To think that such a great man, who treasured his family so much, had to die so soon.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Roy opened his eyes and looked to his right to find Lieutenant Hawkeye standing beside him, staring downwards at Hughes' grave. Roy sighed and looked away indirectly at the mucky ground beside him.

"It's hard to believe that such a great soldier died. I mean, not only that. You know how much he loved his family."

"Yeah….." A twinge of pain throbbed inside both Roy Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye, creating an uncomfortable silence between the two. Honestly, neither of them knew really what to say to each other.

Thunder crackled once again overhead. Some of the people who had attended the funeral decided that they had been there long enough and started to leave. It was going to rain soon, and they didn't want to get wet anytime soon.

"You know, he was probably the most sane of us all." Hawkeye looked back up at Roy, only to find him with an odd frown implanted on his face. "He was the kind of guy who was always there, a proud parent, a loving husband….. He was a man." Roy grunted and looked away from Hawkeye.

She noticed his body shiver slightly when he was putting on his cap. Maybe it was from the cold draft that had drawn in. Maybe it was the loss of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes that finally got to him. Or maybe…..

"Heh, I'll miss having phone conversations with that goof." Hawkeye was about to reply back when she noticed a streak of pure tears running down his cheek. His whole body was shaking slightly, as if he were trying to resist himself from crying on the spot. The way he shuddered, it seemed so ghastly, wrong, and out of place….

Hawkeye made no comment. Instead, she bent her head down and shed her own tears of solitude with Roy beside her.

Armstrong couldn't hold himself back. His salty tears produced rivers of sympathy for Hughes' family. Quickly, he brought his hand up to his face, trying to hide the tears. But it was no use. They leaked through, allowing everyone to see his mourning and woe.

The way Elysia ran to her mom for comfort. The way she protested earlier when they arrived at a lonely, empty field of endless milestones. The way she tugged at her mom's dress, wondering where her daddy was. Because all she wanted was to hide away in his strong, relaxing arms. The arms of her father.

As the rain started to fall, people started to leave. The dreadful sight was becoming too overwhelming for them to handle. Even Grecia and Elysia had left, so that they could cry at home, alone, but together.

Eventually, Roy and Hawkeye made their leave too, a haunting, nauseating thought plaguing their minds.

_ Who's going to tell Edward and Alphonse?....._

The sun shone down on the little hotel room in Dublith. It's rays penetrated through the glass of the window and reached downwards onto the hardwood floor. Spiderwebs were observant from the corners of the room near the balcony doors.

The hotel room itself was mainly made of wood. That showed through the sun's rays. However, nothing else was visible in the darkness.

The apartment room was very quiet and very subtle. It seemed like no life was in that room at all, but in the corner of the room, sitting on a tidy, wooden bed, was Edward Elric. His face covered by his bangs, shielding his sorrow and shame.

"Onii-san! Onii-san!" Alphonse dashed into the room, throwing the door open. He scanned the area rapidly and found his brother sitting in a dark corner of the room.

"Onii-san! Onii-san! Guess what?" Alphonse asked excitedly approaching his brother.

Ed looked away, shuddering, trying to keep his face revealed. Al stopped short in his tracks. Something was wrong. His brother seemed very….. unhappy. Something stabbed Alphonse's invisible heart when he realized that something horrible had happened again. _Again_.

"Onii-san…. What's wrong?" Ed hissed painfully. His throat was dry and hoarse. His eyes closed so tight that it hurt. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. No words, no sounds, could ever explain the anger and frustration that he felt right then.

"Al….." Al felt queasy at his brother's unsteady voice. It was full of tension, hurt and frustration. Something that they weren't used to, even though they had to deal with it a lot.

"Bah!" Ed looked away from Al again, unable to answer his brother's question.

"Onii-san!" Ed took in a deep breath and let it out. He knew that Al had to know sometime, if only he hadn't caught him sulking in the room. Damn….. Why…..

"Hughes-san….. He died." It was as if all the mirrors in the world had cracked and fell apart into shards on the floor. Scattered and forever lost, like the identities of those who were close to Hughes. 

It pained Ed the most to think that, such an easy-going guy like him, was truly gone. Their first friend in the military, the most kindest person he had ever met. Even when it was his birthday, Hughes picked him up and brought him to his house where they celebrated….. He never forgot about anyone. He was always there…..

His family. Hell knows how his family was going to deal with this. And Elysia-chan….. 

"Al….." Ed's brother looked up at him, worried and concerned. "How….. how are we ever going to get through this….." his wavering voice trailed off, allowing the breeze that swept the apartment to carry it away.

"I don't know onii-san. But what we have to be strong, for both Hughes-san's family and ourselves….." Ed snorted, staring down at the floor. An evil smirk made its way across Ed's face.

"Yeah….. after we kill the bastard who did this….." Al felt a trickle of terror creep throughout him. The way his brother smirked, the way he said what he said….. It sounded so…..bittersweet, so….. disgusted. Disgusted at the world, disgusted at himself…..

'But onii-san, we'll get through this, just like everyone else…..' Al sighed, his eyes void and blank. The future looked so dampened for them, for Hughes' family, who never should have had to live through this nightmare.

You know, after reading chapter 15 for the first time, I was still kind of shocked to see that they killed my favorite character. He died such a cruel death too. *sighs* Rest in peace Hughes, rest in peace.

Btw, the name of this fanfic was originally:  
  
**"The Death of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes"**

Due to um, well, some unhappy reviewers and me realizing that I made a mistake, I've changed the title.

Now, this fanfic was basically the aftermath of his death and how his family and everyone dealt with it. It may seem like a re-telling, but it's not. I've changed things and gone into depth with each character's thinking. This is definately not the final version. I rushed the ending to get it out….. But with due time, I'll get the version I want out. So far, I have to re-read it and edit it (mainly the brother's thoughts, I felt that I didn't write those in character and good enough yet. Same with the funeral scene, well, most of the latter parts of it anyway.) then add in Winry's thoughts on it. After, I have a GetBackers, Naruto, and multiple unfinished fanfics to get through. Ha, on top of that, I've got piles of work to do.

Well, until then, Keep on writing!

Edit: I'm having formatting problems with uploading the story, so please bear with me. Thanks.

Edit2: Alright, I'm extremely sorry for spoiling the manga/anime for those of you who walked in with nail bats ready to beat me into a crisp. Don't forget, I'm human, I make mistakes, and I'm willing to hear the comments that you all have given me. So I'm glad that this was pointed out, even if it was careless of me, and I apologize once again. However, I was debating with what to name the fanfic (I've thought of a lot of extensions I'm going to add to the story when I get to it). See, I wanted the title of the fanfic, once you see it, to be heavy-hitting and the truth. I guess putting the spoilers in was going a bit too far, but I wonder. Well, thank to those of you again..... even though some of you weren't as..... calm as the others. Let's put it that way.


End file.
